How to Combat Phobias

A childhood friend and a close companion , with whom I used to discuss several subjects , like sports ( cricket in special) , politics , religion , spirituality and of course members of the opposite sex (this was done with great fervour ) suffers from morbid thought processes and irrational fears .

This friend was quite athletic and adept in several indoor and outdoor sports. He played soccer, cricket, badminton and indoor games like chess, table tennis effortlessly and in a facile manner. For him Amitabh Bachchan was next to almighty. While I was hooked to the acting skills of Naseeruddin Shah, my friend swore by Amitabh. And we used to have animated debates about the acting skills of both the actors.

Without doubt , Amitabh Bachchan scored heavily in terms of popular appeal , I always rated and rate Naseer a superior actor.

My friend was forced to pursue sciences by his father much to his disapprobation. Unfortunately he lost his father to Alzheimer’s and mother later on died of stomach cancer.

Since childhood, he used to read books written by Norman Vincent Peale , and other books on how to cultivate positive thinking . I used to wonder why? The friend was quite attached to his mother and subsequent to the tragedy, he started reading books written by Dr Brian L Weiss. And is now tormented and bedevilled by thoughts of life after death and wishes to write on this subject. He suffers from thanatophobia.

There is an individual hailing from Cuddapah district from Andhra Pradesh. He is leading a retired life , but is troubled by a host of negative thoughts . This gentleman is physically strong , goes about his chores with regularity. The retired professor is physically well endowed, takes morning and evening walks, but as night falls , he suffers from nyctophobia( darkness).

The retired professor mentioned, that his close friend always sports a dishevelled appearance! Why was my query? To which he replied that person suffered from spectrophobia( mirrors) . In their neighbourhood, resides a lady whose only son committed suicide as he failed to qualify for the entrance examination. Since then the lady suffers from what is called pharmacophobia ( medicine). No medicine can be administered on her. A friend of that lady is an extremely distressed personality whose daughter had a miscarriage , Since then , she suffers from metrophobia( motherhood).

Recently a batch mate from Mumbai dropped in for dinner. It was under tremendous compulsion he consented for the official trip as he seldom travels ( he suffers from hodophobia- fear of travel). Apparently years back, he was traveling in a car with his family which met with a serious accident in which he lost his parents.

“ The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Writes Franklin D Roosevelt

The list is endless. People across the spectrum, different age groups, variety of professions, different sexes seem to be suffering from fears and phobias. Past impressions have played havoc on their minds and systems. Those events and remembrance and replay of the events trigger irrational responses. The minds are enveloped with fear, they live closeted lives, and minds are impinged with negative thoughts. This particularly happens when their minds are not occupied and do not have anything constructive to execute. They have not developed a space to declutter their minds and dump all the accumulated mental garbage.

Unfortunately several of them are under sedatives and are compelled to take Prozac . This has ill effects on the anatomy like loss of appetite , irritability among others.

“ Fear keeps us focussed on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realise that right now, we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvellously. Our eyes can still see beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voice s of our loved ones.” Writes Thin Nhat Hanh

Our will power, motivation and resolve to break the boundaries are the only way to get out of this quagmire. As Wayne Dyer says,” Go for it now the future is promised to none.”

My aunt has prepared her battle ground to combat fear and phobias. She is thankful and grateful to everything that universe has provided. She unflinchingly writes down only motivational quotations. Mind listens to such positive vibrations. It has an echo and a spiralling affect.

Further she is a voracious reader of all religious scriptures and motivational authors. This further begets positivity in her mind.

My mother learnt Pranic Healing and Siddha Healing techniques, apart from undertaking the Vipassana course and the Part 1 and Part 2 courses of the Art of Living. She does the Sadhana( practice ) without fail daily. Such practices have increased her confidence levels and she is full of confidence. Both of them believe in Law of Attraction, Law of Gratefulness, Law of Abundance and Law of Thankfulness and feeling blessed all the time.

Those who are suffering from fears and phobias should without fail do Yoga, Pranayama and undertake the Happiness Programme of Art of Living . The unique breathing technique of Sudarshan Kriya as developed by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar detoxifies our minds and purges it of negativity. Regular practice of Pranayama, Yoga, Sudarshan Kriya and Meditation calms the mind and brings it to the present moment.

Once you live in the present, fears dissolve and the mind is empty . This one particularly learns in the Advanced Meditation Course and the Blessings Course of the Art of Living.

“ Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it” writes Charles R Swindoll .